Cecilia Crimsondragon II: Dragon Star
by MistyKoopa
Summary: 6 Months after Cantorin's death Cecilia has become depressed and distant from her friends. But when she winds up in the most unexpected place possible, she comes to terms with who she is. Reading the first story is recommended.
1. In The Realm of Nightmares

A great wide plain stretched as far as the eye could see. Tall grass and flowers waved gently in the breeze under a great blue sky dotted with clouds here and there. Cecilia breathed in the sweet scent of grass and flowers and sighed. This was perfect. This was paradise!

There was a murmur behind her and she turned. In the distance she could see a man waving to her. The sun was to his back, making his features hard to work out, but Cecilia squinted and managed to recognize him none the less.

"Father...? Father!!" She cried out joyfully. Laughing she rushed towards him. "What are you doing here? This is great! It really IS paradise!"

But then it grew dark and she stopped several feet away, frozen in terror. Her father had disappeared and Andro Cantorin stood in his place instead.

"Noo!" she cried out. "Your dead, I KILLED YOU!"

Cecilia turned to run, but found herself stuck in place by thorns. The landscape had changed completely from an endless field of grass and flowers to an ugly field of just dirt and thorns.

Cecilia screamed as her attention turned back to Cantorin, now wielding a large rocket launcher. Desperately she tried to flee, but it was too late! Cantorin had fired and and the world around her exploded!

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

"Cecilia! Cecilia! Are you alright in there?" It was Visse.

Cecilia gasped and blinked. There was no field of thorns nor was Andro Cantorin standing before her. It was all just another nightmare.

"...Yeah I'm fine." She called back and sighed. It had been more then 6 months since the incident on Coruscant, but the nightmares still hadn't gone away. Even after death Cantorin still haunted her.

"Bet he'd love to know that," Cecilia murmured sadly as she got out of bed. Quickly she changed clothes and headed out of her room. Vaguely she recalled that they'd be landing and refueling today, but wasn't sure when that would be.

Out in the main room she saw Visse and Silver talking quietly. Cecilia cringed; she hated it whenever anyone got nosy about her nightmares. Indeed, when they saw her they abruptly stopped, and Silver calmly approached Cecilia.

"Visse said he heard you screaming a few minutes ago."

"Maybe he did. So what?"

"Well, maybe if you were to talk about your nightmares-"

"My nightmares are MY BUSSINESS! Butt out!" she yelled angrily.

Silver turned away, his annoyance level rising. Cecilia hadn't been prone to shouting and snapping before and after fighting Cantorin, but slowly she was rising back up to the point she was at when they first met.

"Look, we're landing soon, so if you want to take a walk-"

"Yes I do!" she interjected before turning and pacing in frustration. Only when she felt the ship land did she turn to leave.

"Don't forget to take a comlink," Visse reminded her.

"Whatever," Cecilia grumbled, but still pocketed one all the same.

Quietly she walked through the spaceport, pretending she didn't notice the staring or the whispering. Only when she found a dark alley did she finally sit and sigh.

Cecilia didn't want to admit it to any of her friends, but she had become depressed. True now she could walk freely, but she was still an outsider to society due to her appearance. People couldn't call Cantorin to capture her now, but they still believed she was a cold hearted killer simply because she was different.

"If only there was a land of other dragons out there," she said aloud to herself. "Then I wouldn't be different. It would be a true paradise."

Silently Cecilia sat there for what seemed like ages until she got a call from the comlink.

"We're ready to leave now so come on back," she heard Visse's voice tell her.

"Yeah yeah I'm on my way back," she dully told him as she slowly got up.

"Cecilia, you've got to get back here right away!" Visse's voice rang out from the comlink again.

"I said I was on my way back already," she snapped.

"No, you don't understand! There are some men here calling themselves the Dragon Hunters. They want to kill you!"

Cecilia opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment a blast rang by her head, just barely missing. Yelling, she turned and saw a near solid wall of men firing at her, like a vision out of the past. Only, whereas Catorin wanted her alive, they wanted her dead!

Turning, Cecilia took off running as fast as she could. More blasts flew by her, but none of them had hit her, yet.

Cecilia dove around the corner, and her heart fell as she was met by more men.

"Oh crap, why does history have to repeat itself?!" she said to no one in particular as she took the next best option; climbing to the top of the nearest building.

"Cecilia, this is Silver. Where the hell are you at?!" the comlink rang out.

"Cornered on a building rooftop. They've got it surrounded!"

"Why don't you fight back?" he asked.

"Because there's too many and they're aiming to kill!" she snapped back. "I'm brave, not stupid!"

"Look, we're trying to break through, so don't yell at the person who's trying to save your hide!" Silver yelled back.

"I'm sorry, Ok?! Now try to get me out of here!"

"What do you THINK we're trying to do?! You should be more grateful, _Fett_!"

Cecilia snarled furiously; if there was one thing that still pissed her off, it was that.

"I changed my mind! I don't _need_ your help to get out of here!" she growled back.

"Oh yeah, like, how?"

That was a good question, Cecilia had to admit. Quickly she looked around. She was fast, but it would be too hard to outrun all of them with their blasters. And there were too many to deep fry. But maybe, just maybe...

"I'm going to fly back to the ship."

"Are you INSANE?! They have rocket launchers AND you're completely surrounded! You can't beat that!"

"I'm doing it and that's final. You just get the ship ready."

"You were wrong, you're not brave, just incredible stupid!" she heard Silver saying as she dropped the comlink and crouched down low. Then she began running at full speed before taking a flying leap into the air.

The wind whistled in her ears as she tore through the air. Cecilia heard yelling down below, but she couldn't make out the words. But then, there was a whistling that _wasn't_ the wind.

She turned. Rockets were flying at her from all sides and from below. She faltered as her dream came rushing back towards her. There was a flash and the sound of an explosion from far away and then she was falling and then there was nothing.

"OH MY GOD!" Kim shrieked as she stared at the fireball where Cecilia was moments earlier. Will and Sia both yelled and had gone very pale. Visse silently stood there with his mouth open.

"Cecilia...," Silver muttered softly. "I'm sorry..."


	2. Welcome to Dragon Star

"Hey, can you hear me miss?"

"Huh...?"

"Good, you're awake!"

Cecilia slowly opened her eyes and saw a strange man bending down over her. She yelled and sat up.

"Who the hell are you? Where are my friends?!"

"My name is Dr. Dragus. I'm afraid you weren't brought in with any friends."

The word doctor sent chills down Cecilia's spine, but also stirred up the anger in her.

"Yeah well if you think you can do experiments on me too you can forget it!" she spat at him. Dr. Dragus look very startled.

"Experiments? No no I'm a physician in Tracia City. You _are_ from Tracia City, aren't you?"

"Never heard of the place."

"What about Guardia? Or Trann?"

"I'm not from around here," she simply told him. Dr Dragus seemed satisfied with that and wrote something on a piece of paper.

"Can I have your name, miss?"

"Cecilia Crimsondragon."

"Well Miss Crimsondragon, you had a terrible fall, but don't appear to have broken or damaged anything. But just the same, I wish to keep you overnight for observation at least."

"Fine," Cecilia mumbled.

"This will be your room. The nurses will help you if you need any," the doctor said as he turned and left, leaving Cecilia alone. Sighing softly she closed her eyes.

"Add in the names "Crimsondragon and Cecilia to your search, nurse," Dr. Dragus told the head nurse.

"Yes sir. No DNA matches have been found so far. Are you certain the patient isn't suffering from amnesia?"

"We won't know for sure until we get an ID. The police say the eye-witnesses that saw her suddenly fall have never seen her before in their lives. This girl is very mysterious."

"We'll have to find a match, Doctor. She can't have come from the outside. The slaughter...," she trailed off. Dr. Dragus patted her shoulder.

"There will be a match, make no mistake. Don't you fret about impossible possibilities."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Here's your breakfast, ma'am," the orderly said as she handed Cecilia a tray with a lid on it.

"Thanks," Cecilia replied blandly as she left. Already the doctor had been in to see her this morning. He had a clean bill of health and allowed her to change back into her clothes, but she still hadn't been discharged. Cecilia wasn't sure what to do when she could leave anyway, if her friends had abandoned her in the middle of no where without any credits.

Cecilia lifted up the lid and looked at the food. It was some sort of hot cereal gone cold and smelt awful, not to mention it was the wrong meal!

"Hey, hey!" she yelled as she got up, carrying the tray with her. "Excuse me!" Cecilia opened the door as she looked for the woman. "You've given me the wrong...the wrong...," Cecilia stammered. Words failed her as she dropped the food to the floor without noticing. Her eyes were fixed onto the patient a doctor was helping walk.

A bright green Dragon. A Dragon! It was impossible, they were all killed six months ago. And yet she was seeing it, another living Dragon.

As she watched she saw another nurse, half Dragon like she was help a plain human patient. And farther down the hall was a human visiting a Dragon with two little half Dragon children.

"Excuse me, Miss Crimsondragon? Are you alright?" a ordinary human nurse asked Cecilia, bringing her back to reality. In an instant Cecilia grabbed the woman and pinned her against the wall.

"Who are you? What the hell's going on?!"

"Miss, what are you-?"

"They're dead, I know they are! Is this some kind of stunt?! Are you messing with me? WELL?!"

"Cecilia! CECILIA!" Doctor Dragus grabbed Cecilia and pulled her off the nurse. "What is the matter with you?!"

"There shouldn't be any Dragons, they're dead! I'm the only one left!"

"You're really not from here, are you?" he asked her weakly.

"I don't even know where I am, let alone what's going on!"

"...Well, it might explain why your DNA failed to turn up any positive results in our computer system, or anyone with the names Cecilia Crimsondragon." Dr. Dragus cleared his throat before continuing. "Well, come with me. I might be able to clear up something." He gestured and Cecilia followed him, mind swirling with thoughts. What in the world was going on?

He led her down the hall and up a long flight of stairs. At the end was a plain door aptly marked "roof".

"I think Kasuru Sagittarius is going to be very interested in meeting you, but that's for later," Dragus said as he opened the door in front of them.

A city spread out in front of them; tall skyscrapers, small cafes, and everything in between. In the distance was the large expansive of water that was the ocean. But Cecilia only had eyes for the inhabitants. Dragons. Some were flying solo, others were ferrying people around. Dragons, half Dragons, and human alike all mingled, entering and leaving places, or just hanging around.

Cecilia felt faint. This was impossible, and yet she was seeing it. Beside her she heard Dr. Dragus speaking again.

"Miss Crimsondragon, I welcome you to the ancestral home of the Dragons. Welcome to Dragon Star."


	3. The History of Dragon Star

Cecilia gazed around in the hallway she now stood in

Cecilia gazed around in the hallway she now stood in. Discharged from the hospital, she had been taken to the Kasuru Palace of Dragon Star. The guards had led her down hallway after hallway, before leaving her in front of the door in front of her.

But she had hardly taken anything in since she had been on the hospital rooftop as her mind had been a swirl of thoughts. How had she been brought to Dragon Star, and how was it possible that Space Dragons still lived?

Interrupting her thoughts was a guard who stepped out of the door in front of her.

"Miss Cecilia Crimsondragon, Kasuru Sagittarius is ready to see you now."  
"Ok" Cecilia said weakly as she stepped forward.

"You be polite, and always refer to him as Kasuru," he strictly told Cecilia as she walked past into the room beyond.

The room was modestly decorated, more like an executive or mayors office, not like the leader of a planet like Cecilia expected. Another surprise was that Kasuru Sagittarius was middle aged; Cecilia expected him to be much older.

"Ah!" he exclaimed when he saw Cecilia. "Welcome, welcome. Make yourself at home," he said with a smile as he shook Cecilia's hand.

"How do you do, Sir Kasuru?" Cecilia greeted politely. The man couldn't help but to chuckle.

"Kasuru is our word for leader, young Cecilia. My first name is, Sabin, not Kasuru."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought...,"

"Don't fret, now," Sagittarius told her. "This must be quite a mindful for you as is, a dragon not from Dragon Star!" Cecilia nodded.

"I'm so confused... I...I remember an explosion, and then suddenly I woke up in a hospital here. I don't get it.

"An explosion? Ah...that might explain it," Sagittarius said thoughtfully.

"You know how I got here? Because I sure don't!" Cecilia responded. Sagittarius nodded.

"Hm, yes I think it must have been the Emergency Teleporter." Cecilia blinked.

"Emergency...Teleporter?"

"Indeed. Even after so long, Dragon numbers are dwindling. Only a couple pure Dragons remain, so the Emergency Teleporter was built to lock onto a Dragon in a situation where they would die surely before their time, and bring them to a safe place instead. A fire, or a speeder wreck. In your case, there was an explosion. What is unexpected though was the long distance it worked, far beyond Dragon Star.

"In fact...how is it possible that you are a Dragon and not lived on Dragon Star previously?" Sagittarius asked Cecilia, frowning.

Cecilia shifted uneasily; she was afraid it would come to this question, and she didn't know what Dragon Stars relation to Andro Cantorin was. The last thing she wanted was any sort of trouble with an ally of Cantorins without any way of escape. But luckily she had come up with a new answer to hopefully keep her out of that sort of trouble.

"Well... I suppose there was Dragon blood in my family line from way back when. Must've been survivors, I suppose. I guess the Dragon in us lay dormant until I was born, and came out half human half Dragon. My parents took care of me for a few years. They said they thought that perhaps they could love me, but when I was about three they decided they just couldn't and abandoned me. So I lived alone on the streets." Sagittarius nodded and looked kindly and sympathetic, to Cecilia's relief.

"Yes, I suppose the galaxy is still very much prejudiced against the Dragons. I can't blame them though..."

"That's something I don't understand," Cecilia said. "How can Dragon Star still be here...or Space Dragons for that matter!" To her surprise, Sagittarius laughed.

"They are extinct, young Cecilia."

"But, I just saw them outside-"

"Ah, they are the closest living relation to Space Dragons. They are Terra Dragons."

"Terra Dragons?" Cecilia blinked. "I...I don't understand, Kasuru." Sagittarius smiled and stood up. "Perhaps I can explain and show you. Please, come this way," he told her as he led her out of his office and down yet another hall. At the end of this hall were big, ornate double doors. They opened and Cecilia gasped.

The room was round and massive. There were large decorative pillars and decorations, some very old, other not so old. Three golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling. But what caught Cecilia's eyes were the walls.

All around the room were ancient drawings depicting humans and Dragons together. She remembered seeing some of them long ago when she was still all human, back when she was still a Fett.

"What...what is this place?! It's incredible!!" Sagittarius smiled and led her in.

"This is the History of Dragon Star room, and is the oldest surviving room from what we call the Great Dragon War."

"I know all about the war," Cecilia said nodding. "The Dragons got pushy and tried to take over the galaxy, but the Dragon Hunters came and kill all the Dragons and then blew up Dragon Star." Sagittarius smiled sadly.

"That's the version that is told throughout the galaxy, huh? I suppose time has a way of making people forgetting things. Or perhaps they only forgot what they wanted to forget. But Dragon Star knows the truth. We remember because when you forget is when you tell the lie.

"Many, many years ago Dragon Star was one of many systems in a great galactic alliance, the forerunner of what would eventually become the Republic. Dragon Star traded with other planets and life for everyone was good.

"On Dragon Star there were five dominant species; the ocean-dwelling Aqua Dragon, the cold dwelling Ice Dragon, the large, powerful, and interplanetary Space Dragon, the smaller cousin that could not survive in space, the Terra Dragon, and people. Everyone got along and worked together to make Dragon Star great.

"But the Space Dragons were not content. They believed themselves to be the most powerful species in the galaxy, and thus, should rule the galaxy. Many humans agreed with the Space Dragons, who were much larger and more violent then the other Dragons. The Terra, Aqua, and Ice Dragons disagreed, saying it would only bring trouble, when they only desired peace. Many humans agreed with them also.

"The Space Dragons declared their own independence and together with the other humans and many half Dragons set out and waged war with the galaxy. Many systems suffered destruction while other systems stopped trade with Dragon Star. Even though it was only the Space Dragons who were killing and not the other Dragons, everyone now feared us.

"A group arose in the turmoil and set out against the Space Dragons, calling themselves the Dragon Hunters. As impossible as it seemed, they managed to kill every single Space Dragon, and their followers. Only a handful of human followers survived.

"But this wasn't good enough. As punishment for the treason, they came here to Dragon Star. It had been decided by all the other systems that Dragon Star must be punished, even though the other Dragons and humans had nothing to do with what the Space Dragons did, and did all they could to stop them. There was a mass slaughtering of Dragons. Only a couple thousand Terra Dragons lived. Even fewer Ice and Aqua Dragons survived. Our cities were destroyed. We were stripped of our technology and banned from galactic society. The survivors were only allowed to live on the condition they give up all our interplanetary technology and could never leave Dragon Star ever again.

"Not all was lost, though. The ancient Kasuru survived, and the Kasuru Palace remained relatively undamaged. As the Kasuru Palace is the center of Dragon Star society, and the Kasuru is, of course, their ruler, the surviving inhabitants had the will to live. Working together everyone rebuilt. We developed our own technology again, but abide by the condition of which we were allowed to live, and have never left Dragon Star. We did, however, develop ships that can leave Dragon Star...but we only use them on those we ourselves banish from Dragon Star."

"Banish?" Cecilia asked. Sagittarius nodded.

"Yes...unfortunately, sometimes old ideas don't die. There have been quite a few ancestors of the ones who desired control and dominance who still desire them. Like the Cantorins." Sagittarius spit the name with hatred. Cecilia pretended not to notice.

"I think it's terrible what the Dragon Hunters did. It's not fair to hurt the innocent to punish the guilty!"

"It is terrible," Sagittarius agreed with her as they left the History of Dragon Star room. "But, that's how life has worked since it began. That's how life will work until it ends."

"I know, but...I wish that's not how it had to work. I want to change it!"

Sagittarius smiled as they walked back into his office that overlooked the city. "You're very optimistic, Cecilia. I admire that." Cecilia smiled a little.

"I don't really consider myself optimistic. I'm more pessimistic then optimistic; I always have something negative to think about."

"Pessimistic or not, you certainly sounded optimistic a moment ago," he said as they looked down at the city around them.

"So, what is this city called anyways?" Cecilia asked after a few minutes.

"This is Tracia, the capital of Dragon Star, as you might have already guessed. We're located very near the equator. The sea you see in the distance is the Sapphire Sea, named not for the colour, but rather for the sapphire gems the Aqua Dragons used to mine on the seabed."

"Isn't population a problem?" Cecilia asked. "I know cities are crowded, but this seems more crowded then I've ever seen," she said, excluding her account of Couruscant.

"Yes and no for different reasons. The pure Dragon population is rather depressing even after so long. Even though its quite a comeback from near extinction, it doesn't come near the population there once was. Terra Dragon population is around 50 million. Aqua and Ice Dragons, which are much rarer as they prefer seaside and artic climates respectively, are close to 10 million each."

"But that seems like so much."

"Perhaps, but when you take into account a global population of around 12 billion, the numbers are rather out of proportion," Sagittarius said.

"The human population seems much more out of wack compared to the Dragon population. How does that work?"

"Well, the Dragon Hunters were more...lenient with our human ancestors. But the Dragon population doesn't include the totals of beings with mixed lineage."

"So, there are more half Dragons then full Dragons. I see now," Cecilia said with a nod. "That's a pretty healthy population size though. No wonder Tracia is so crowded!"

"All cities are immensely crowded," Sagittarius told her. "It is difficult to expand and still save room for Dragon Stars wilderness. It's important after all, since we can't import or export goods. So it gets more and more difficult to place people and to save land for food and whatnot. Luckily, we've found a solution," he said with a smile.

"Go on," Cecilia said. Sagittarius showed her a globe.

"As you can see, most of the land area is more cities now then country. We need a place to build new cities and locate people to them to ease the stress on the current cities without imposing on country. Study the globe and you'll find our solution." Cecilia studied the map for a minute.

"There are a lot of oceans. You're...you're not going to drain the oceans and ruin the Aqua Dragons habitat to expand the cities...are you?" Sagittarius couldn't help but to laugh.

"Of course we wouldn't do that! And that's not a viable solution anyways. There are very steep cliffs only a few miles off shore in most, of not all, of the costal areas. What we've done instead have built massive domes. The frozen areas of the north and south use these domes to control temperature and weather in those cities as only the Ice Dragons can stand the cold well. Much like we've done there, we've put these domes on the sea beds and are now building cities within them."

Cecilia could only gasp in wonder. Cities on the ocean floor! Never in all her life had she heard of such an incredible thing.

"That's amazing Kasuru! I wish I could live in a city on the ocean floor!" Sagittarius smiled.

"Not for a while, Cecilia. The domes are finished, but the cities within them are not. We hope to have them partially finished in a year. People will work in the buildings by then, but it will still take a bit of time to finish the homes in the city.

"In fact... That brings me to an important point," Sagittarius said, growing serious. "I mentioned before about our limited interplanetary technology. We don't use it to leave Dragon Star, but to banish our traitors.

"Now, I'm not calling you a traitor," he said catching the worried look in Cecilia's face. "But it is time for you to make an important decision. I'm not sure what sort of life you have in the galaxy...but I can't imagine it to be very welcoming to Dragons."

"Its not," Cecilia said sadly. "People think I'm a murderer and a cold hearted killer just because of what I look like. They never try to see what kind of a person I am, they just assume and reject me..."

"I guessed as much. Which is why I am offering you this; you can return to your life in the galaxy. We will give you a ship and you can leave Dragon Star and go back to your friends and life there.

"Or, I can help you start a new life here on Dragon Star. We'll give you accommodations and money to begin with, but you'll have to find work on your own. Don't rush; I know this is an important decision to make."

Life among her fellow Dragons! Cecilia could only wish of such a thing, to be fully accepted for what she was and to leave peacefully and normally. But, what about her life in the galaxy? What about her friends, what would they think? She did disappear into thin air, after all. They had to have been worried sick.

...Where they? Silver's voice rang out in her mind; "you're not brave, just incredibly stupid!" She thought about the past few months with them. Did they really still call her a friend, or were they celebrating her absence as she stood there?

"Are you Ok Cecilia?" Sagittarius' voice brought her back to reality. To her surprise, several tears were running down her face. "It's all right, don't cry now," he said as he handed her a tissue. "I won't force you to stay if there's someone important to you out there."

Cecilia sniffed and looked out the window, to the late afternoon sky. She thought of her apparent friends, her father, people calling her names on the street, and what a life on Dragon Star might be like...

She turned back to Kasuru Sabin Sagittarius, a wide grin on her face.

"I want to live here! I want to stay on Dragon Star and get a normal job and live a normal life and be happy!"


	4. A Date With Disaster

Roughly half a year passed since Cecilia came to Dragon Star, and she had to admit that so far, it hadn't been working out too well for her. Quickly Cecilia had gone from being disqualified from her top job choices to scraping the bottom of the barrel. The few jobs she could get had all resulted in her getting fired within a week. She hadn't been able to make any friends either.

_But all that's about to change_, Cecilia told herself as she looked in the mirror. Tonight Cecilia was going on a date with one of the most prestigious young men of Dragon Star, Capricorn Drake.

Cecilia had heard a lot about the Drakes since she first arrived. Capricorn's father, Leopold Drake, was well known for being the most merciless lawyer on Dragon Star. In particular, she had heard he was just as merciless with his own clients as well, even going as far as suing his own former clients sometimes. But Cecilia wasn't going to just judge him like that without knowing him; she knew all too well what that was like.

She had to admit she was startled when Capricorn contacted her out of nowhere, but now she was excited. Cecilia was going on her very first date!

She took one last look at herself in the mirror before leaving. Wearing a fancy dress and pair of high heels, with make-up and a nice hair style, Cecilia barely recognized herself as she left her apartment. Normally Cecilia flew to and from everywhere she went, but tonight she had to take the bus. Cecilia's head was swirling with thoughts about her first date and before she knew it, she had arrived at the fancy restaurant where Capricorn was waiting.

Cecilia looked around as she was shown to her table; the place was packed full of young and dressed up humans and dragons out on dates.

"You're late," Capricorn told her when Cecilia walked over.

"I'm sorry, the bus was slightly off schedule," Cecilia explained.

"Don't you have your own speeder? _I_ do," Capricorn said to her.

"No, usually I fly to where I go," Cecilia told him as she sat down. "But anyways, hello, I'm Cecilia Crimsondragon."

"Yes yes, I know. Cecilia is a very unusual name you know. Almost as unusual as your scales; red is a very rare colour for dragons you know," Capricorn told Cecilia.

"I've heard," Cecilia said simply; it was true, she had heard many times already that red is an especially rare colour for her to have.

"When I heard that there was a red dragon here in Tracia, I knew I just had to invite you here tonight. I would not let an opportunity like that pass by me."

Their waiter approached them.

"Good evening, what would like to have to drink tonight?" he asked the two of them.

"Yes, I think I'll have a ma-"

"We'll both have some of your finest wine, please," Capricorn interrupted Cecilia. Cecilia looked at Capricorn before turning back to the waiter.

"Actually, I'll be having a margarita," she corrected him. Capricorn laughed.

"No, we'll both be having the wine. We'll also have the roast chicken dinner, please," Capricorn told the waiter.

As soon as the waiter walked away, Cecilia turned back to Capricorn, feeling annoyed.

"_What_ was that about?" Cecilia asked him.

"No offense, but you don't know what to order. Trust me on this," Capricorn said to her. Cecilia sighed mentally; she didn't like where this was going.

As the date progressed, Cecilia found herself getting more and more annoyed with Capricorn. Not only did he barely listen to her, but every chance he got he criticized Cecilia. More and more Cecilia was resisting the urge to punch him.

"And I was especially glad father won this case, of course," Capricorn droned on about his favorite subject; all the people his father had won cases against. "This girl was a huge slut, see."

"And _why_ is a 'huge slut', exactly?" Cecilia asked him, raising one of her eyebrows. This was getting dangerously close with an especially touchy subject.

"She'd slept with several guys, of course," Capricorn answered. "One should only ever have, to put it politely, one guy. But if you can't do that, then you deserve whatever happens to you."

"What…what about people who were forced into it?" Cecilia tensely asked Capricorn.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean,"

"I…I mean rape. What do you think about people who've been raped?"

Capricorn laughed before answering.

"Why, they too are sluts, and deserved what they got, and what happens to them in the future."

"HOW DARE YOU!!" Cecilia roared as she abruptly stood up, knocking over her chair. Capricorn looked confused momentarily, than understood why she was angry.

"…I see. You _are_ a slut then, are you? I simply cannot abide by your presence, then."

"A slut?! You DARE to call me a slut?!" Cecilia screamed at him. Everyone in the restaurant was staring at them, but she didn't care.

"You BASTARD! People hurt me and you say I _deserved_ it?!"

"I'd have to say yes, you do," Capricorn replied coldly. CRACK! Cecilia's slap across his face echoed loudly in the quiet room.

"You don't even have a clue what it means to go through life like I did! You, who live in your prissy little mansion and have daddy pay for everything and take care of you every second of every day!! I've been through way more crap then you ever will and just as my life if coming together you come and say I deserve every bad thing that's happened to me! I've got news for you, the universe doesn't revolve around you and one day, it's going to bite you in the ass, _hard_!!"

"Get out! Get out of my sight right now! You don't deserve to be in my presence!" Capricorn yelled back at Cecilia.

"I don't take commands from you! I'm leaving of my own will!!" Cecilia shouted before turning angrily and walking out of the restaurant. Cecilia barely noticed the bus ride home, or riding the elevator up to her apartment; she was so angry and upset she could barely think straight.

Once home she went straight to the bathroom and washed the make-up off of her face. Looking up in the mirror with tears in her eyes, Cecilia no longer felt proud of her appearance; she just felt awkward and wrong.

Turning, Cecilia went to her closet to change clothes. Looking inside, one pair caught her eye; the same clothes she was wearing when she first arrived. Nothing else seemed right, so Cecilia kicked off her shoes, removed the dress, and changed into her old clothes.

Cecilia let her hair down and sighed. She wasn't sure why, but she felt restless; the need to get out of the house. For the second time that night, Cecilia left her apartment; but this time, Cecilia instead went up to the roof and flew away.

Aimlessly she flew for what seemed like hours, before landing at the top of a cliff far away from Tracia, but not to Baron, the next city over.

Looking up at the night sky, Cecilia could see the crescent shapes of the twin moons of Dragon Star, Bahamut and Lunaria. But more importantly, Cecilia could see the glittering stars of the galaxy. Looking up at them brought back a flood of memories; her father, Cantorin, the Crescent Hawk…. Tears spilled out of Cecilia's eyes as she suddenly became aware of how unhappy she was.

"I don't get it," she said aloud to herself. "What am I doing here? I thought I could fit in here because I'm half dragon but…I don't belong here either. I'm so different from everyone…. I thought I could be normal, but…everything I've done here just doesn't seem right to me. All this time I've been running from my true nature, because…," Cecilia buried her face into her hands and sobbed.

"Because, I'm a Fett."


	5. The End of the World

More then a year passed since the day Cecilia came to Dragon Star, but little had changed. She finally found a steady job unloading crates in the storeroom of a large store, but as she laid in bed on her day off, Cecilia was still unhappy. With a sigh, Cecilia finally climbed out of bed to start the day.

"I am normal. Normal people aren't interested in battles or traveling through space," Cecilia said aloud to herself as she opened her closet to get dressed. Inside, outfit upon outfit just didn't seem right to her, until one pair caught her eye; the clothes she arrived in. For a second time Cecilia felt drawn to them, and only hesitated for a moment before changing into them. Then she exited her bedroom for a quick breakfast before sitting in her favorite chair to watch TV.

Absentmindedly, Cecilia flipped through the different shows. She found that there were some shows that she liked on Dragon Star, but she still missed a lot of the old ones that she used to watch.

_Maybe that's something I could do_, Cecilia thought to herself. _Break into the entertainment business and recreate my old programs here. Hmm, but, would they even catch on here? Sounds hard to do, anyways._

And so Cecilia sat there, content to just spend the whole day relaxing at home. And she would've, too, but then her apartment began to rattle and shake.

_A-an earthquake?_ Cecilia thought to herself, since Tracia was located fairly close to a seismically active area, but almost immediately a roar filled the area as well. Cecilia recognized it as the sound of a ships engine and, for one wild moment thought it might be the _Crescent Hawk_, until she realized that the sound was simply much too loud to be the _Hawk_'s engine.

Getting up, Cecilia made her way to a window to see what, exactly, she was hearing. Once she peered out the window, however, she stepped back at once, horrified at the sight she saw. Many large capital ships were circling the city, identical, as far as she could tell, to the ships the Republic used.

The hair on the back of Cecilia's neck stood straight up and her heart began to pound rapidly. Nobody should've known about the existence of Dragon Star, and yet there was a foreign fleet circling above Tracia. What in the world was going on?

Turning, Cecilia ran back to her bedroom and flung open the doors of her closet. Immediately she began to fling things aside, searching for an emergency transmitter she made. Near identical to the one she carried around when she was traveling with the _Crescent Hawk_, Cecilia pieced this one together in her spare time on Dragon Star. Cecilia had gotten the idea from the Dragon Star Emergency Teleporter System, and was to be used in conjunction with the system, to help locate survivors during any potential major disasters. The only difference between the one she used before, and the prototype she made, was that the distress signal it was to send out had a much larger range of transmission. But, she had never tested it before, and didn't know if it would work at all.

Finally, Cecilia found the transmitter and turned it on. At once, it turned on and, Cecilia hoped, was sending out it's distress signal. Then, Cecilia turned and ran back out of bedroom and then, out of her apartment.

The hallway was packed full with the other occupants of the floor Cecilia lived on. All of them, Cecilia knew, were heading to the same place she hoped to find, a series of emergency tunnels beneath Tracia, developed long ago in anticipation of another attack, with the entrances disguised as the sewer. But Cecilia couldn't remember where the nearest one was! Regardless, she pushed through the throng passed the elevators and down the stairs.

* * *

Kasaru Sagittarius rushed down one of the many hallways of the Kasaru Palace, closely followed by his aides. Together they entered the room where the last piece of technology salvaged from the great disaster was kept and carefully maintained.

"Are you sure this will work?" Sagittarius asked one of his aides?

"By our calculations, yes. All you have to do is stand in front of it and turn it on," the aide explained.

Stepping forward, Sagittarius turned on the device. For several seconds, nothing happened. And then, from the top of the device, a hologram of a man appeared. The hologram was of extremely poor quality, but it worked none the less.

"Hm, I was wondering if one of you would try to contact us. So, who are you supposed to be?" the mystery man asked.

"I am Kasaru Sagittarius, the leader of Dragon Star," Sagittarius replied. "And as leader, I demand that you take your forces and leave Dragon Star at once! I don't know what your intentions are, but I will not allow you to harass and frighten us."

The man in the hologram smirked.

"But I'm afraid we cannot do that. You see, we won't be leaving. At least, not until everyone on this vile rock has been sufficiently purged."

"Wh-what?!" Sagittarius exclaimed. "But, we've abided by the ancient agreement, we've done nothing wrong!!"

"Oh no, you've done everything wrong by continuing to live. Enjoy the last few minutes of your miserable lives...if you can," the man laughed. Then his hologram disappeared; the connection had been severed on his end.

"Kasaru! What are we to do?!" one of the aides panicked moments later.

"Get in contact with as many cities as possible! Get word out for everyone to take cover!"

Right away everyone went to work, contacting all the cities they could get a hold of. Sagittarius watched for several seconds before he was approached by one of his aides.

"Sir, you must take shelter immediately, there's no telling how much time we have!"

"Understood," Sagittarius said with a nod as he headed off. However, there was only one thing he could think of as he left to take shelter. _My citizens...please forgive me for being unable to stop this tragedy._

* * *

An explosion rocked Cecilia's apartment building, nearly knocking her off her feet. Moments later there was another ground shaking explosion explosion, and immediately after came the scent of fire. People around Cecilia screamed.

"We have to get out of here, NOW!!" Cecilia shouted to those around her.

"But we're not on the the first floor!" she heard someone nearby yell. This was true, they were only a few feet above the second floor landing.

"There's no time! This building could come down on us any second!" Cecilia yelled back as she rushed into one of the hallways of the second floor. Cecilia could sense others following her as she joined the panicking throng on the second floor. Pushing through the crowd, Cecilia made her way to one of the doors that led outside onto the elevated sidewalks. However, once she made it outside, she froze at the horrifying sight before her.

High above the capital ships were dropping bombs left and right. Fighter ships had flown out from the great bellies of the capital ships and some were loosing smaller bombs around the larger bombs, but most were shooting Terra Dragons out of the sky, as well as shooting at those who tried to escape down below. Smoke, dust, and fire filled the air and nostrils. Terrified screams were everywhere.

It was the most horrific thing Cecilia had ever seen. Terror flowing through her body, Cecilia was frozen for what seemed like eternity. But then, her body told her to run, and run she did.

Cecilia ran as fast as she could, dodging the fallen left and right. Something hit her on the head and she realized with an extra jolt of terror that it was somebody else's _head._ She felt sick, and wondered, how could this possibly be happening?

"They're heading this way!" she heard somebody scream nearby, and it was true, the sound of a ship was getting closer. The ship flew low fired shot after shot down at the fleeing citizens before firing off a bomb close to Cecilia. The explosion, while not close enough to engulf Cecilia, was more then enough to send her and many others flying through the air as it destroyed a potion of the elevated sidewalk.

Fortunately Cecilia did not fall far, and was only left only dazed and scratched on the very bottom level of Tracia. Just the same she eased herself up carefully as she heard the ship move away, and looked around. Cecilia saw a manhole cover a few feet away bearing the mark of Dragon Star, as all things official (and many unofficial) things did. However, it was not labeled with the words "Tracia Department of Sanitation" that were on every official manhole cover. It was the entrance to the emergency tunnel system!

Leaping forward, Cecilia grabbed at the cover, lifted, and gave a mighty push; the cover moved to the side, enough to grant access to safety down below.

"Get inside! Hurry!!" Cecilia shouted to all that were around her, among them the ones who fell with Cecilia.

"I'm not getting in there, that's a sewer!" one dragon replied, looking slightly disgusted.

"It's not the sewers, it's the tunnel system!" Cecilia replied back. Reluctantly, the dragon climbed down into the tunnels. Encouraged by the lack of complaints, everyone else climbed down one by one.

"C'mon, hurry! Hurry!" Cecilia cried to them, as more gathered to hide. Finally there were none left, and Cecilia climbed down as well, after pulling the cover back into place behind her.

"Don't just stand by the entrance! Move in deeper!" she yelled when she made it to the bottom. At her words, they all rushed deeper into the tunnels before stopping some ways away. Above them, the ceiling shook, showering them with dust; high above they could still hear the explosions that battered Dragon Star. All of them silently trembled, waiting for it to end.

Gradually the shaking eased and stopped, and the explosions became distant until they could no longer hear them. They were left with only the sound of each other breathing.

"Is...is it safe to go back up?" someone nervously asked at last.

"I...I don't know," Cecilia answered. "Maybe we should stay down here a little longer, just to be safe."

No one spoke again, choosing to sit in silence. After a while Cecilia stood up, peering through the dark.

"I think it's safe now. Let's go," she said, breaking the silence. The others stood up too, and they all walked down the tunnels together.

"I wonder where we are," one dragon asked aloud.

"I'm not sure," one of the humans answered. "Down here, I'm not even sure which direction we're heading, I'm all mixed up."

"We went in from Krupa Parkway, so we're either still moving along the Parkway, or we're going north or south perpendicular from where we started," Cecilia added as well.

Presently they saw a single, small, beam of light shine down from above. Eagerly they all rushed towards it and looked up; it was another entrance.

Cecilia quickly climbed up to the top and began pushing the cover open, only to stop after a massive cloud of dust flew into the tunnel. Cecilia climbed back down, coughing.

"What happened? Why didn't you open the cover to let us out?" someone asked Cecilia.

"We can't go up, not with all that dust flying around up there," Cecilia told her. "It's almost impossible to breathe,"

"But, then how long do we stay down here?"

"However long it takes for the dust to settle," Cecilia said with a shrug, sitting down.

Everyone sat down within and around the small beam of light. Again, nobody said a word, allowing silence to take over again.

_I wonder if they're all thinking the same thing as me, wondering if there's a surface to even return to,_ Cecilia thought to herself.

For hours on end they sat in that tunnel, although Cecilia wasn't sure about the exact time; perhaps only minutes that felt like hours have passed.

Soon the silence was pierced by a new sound, but this wasn't the sound of bombs or screams; it was rain. Some drops fell into the tunnel from the tiny light, with a little dripping noise.

After it had continued for some time Cecilia looked back up at the cover, thoughtful.

"Perhaps...the dust has mostly cleared out from this rain shower," she suggested to the others. "We might be able to go to the surface now."

"You really think so?" someone asked Cecilia.

"I'm not sure, but we can't stay down here forever. We have to go back up sometime soon," Cecilia replied, as she stood up and ascended to the top again.

Cecilia carefully pushed on the cover again, and this time mass amounts of dust didn't come pouring in. Encouraged, Cecilia pushed open the over all the way, exposing the tunnel to full light and rain. Then she climbed all the way out and looked around.

There was almost nothing left. Buildings were left barely standing, the elevated sidewalks were missing huge chunks here and there. Huge piles of rubble covered everything left and right.

Cecilia stood there, shocked, horrified, and distraught all at once. She barely even noticed when the others climbed up behind her. There was silence for a few seconds.

"NOOOOOO!!" someone screamed, the yell echoing through the emptiness. Some immediately burst into tears at the terrible sight. Others screamed for those they knew, but in vain.

Cecilia slowly walked forward, barely believing what she saw. She wanted to just wake up in bed, ready to start another ordinary day and leave this nightmare behind, but Cecilia knew that this nightmare was all too real.

Then Cecilia realized something terrible. She didn't want to believe it, that she was simply overreacting but Cecilia's heart told her that it was true, and that she couldn't ignore it.

"It's my fault.... It's my fault...! It's all my fault!" Cecilia cried out in despair as she collapsed to the ground, wings drooping, and massive pit in her heart.

"If...if I had died like I was supposed a year ago.... Then no one would've had to die today!"

Burying her face in her hands, Cecilia began to weep, sobbing quietly in the rain.


	6. The Survivors Unite

Heart full of despair, Cecilia continued sob in the rain among the ruins of Tracia. She felt ashamed at the same time; she felt she was strong enough to hold back the tears. Yet she couldn't; the city was annihilated, who knows how many were dead, and Cecilia could only blame herself, the single outsider of Dragon Star.

But then Cecilia heard a noise and she snapped her head up and stood up at once. Brushing away the tears, she took on a defensive stance and looked around.

"Who's there? I know someone's out there...! Show yourself!" she yelled out. Nervously, a head poked out of the closest rubble; the head of a dragon.

Cecilia, startled, dropped her defensive stance as she looked at the newcomer. She could hardly believe there was a survivor on the devastated surface.

"A survivor...? Who're you?" Cecilia asked the dragon.

"Ralin. Is it really safe to come out?" he asked Cecilia nervously.

"I think so. Looks like the invaders left, anyways," she answered him.

"Are you sure?" a second voice answered. Cecilia turned and looked; another dragon!

By this time, the survivors Cecilia was with began to gather. Cecilia looked surprised.

"Huh...? Another one?" Cecilia said to no one in particular. She took a deep breath, before shouting as loud she could.

"HELLOOOOOOOO! WHO'S OUT THERE?" her voice echoed across the near empty city. In several minutes a crowd of about twenty.

"Is this really all that's left? There's so few of us...," Cecilia said softly before looking around; there were near equal amounts of dragons, half dragons, and humans.

"What are your names?" Cecilia asked to the crowd. After introductions were out of the way she said "Right. Well, uh, we should move on and try to find supplies."

"But, what if someone comes looking for us? Shouldn't we stay here?" a dragon called Mel asked.

"It's alright," Cecilia replied. "I have a transmitter on me. If they can pick up the signal, they can follow us no matter where we go. Now c'mon!"

Together, the group set off across their ruined city. As they moved on, Cecilia noticed that not everything was completely destroyed; there were still quite a few buildings standing, although most of them weren't in great shape. She thought that was odd, but didn't think about it much.

Soon enough they found what she was looking for; a supermarket that was still standing. Without hesitation they forced their way inside.

"What should we grab?" A half dragon named Tachyn asked Cecilia. Cecilia shrugged.

"Anything, as long as its in a bottle or can and won't go bad in the heat," she told him. "Don't forget though, we need plenty of water, too."

"How are we going to pay for so much stuff, though?" a girl called Cin asked.

"We're not," Cecilia bluntly replied. Everyone turned to her in shock.

"What? We can't just steal all this!" Cin exclaimed. "We'll be sent to jail!"

"I don't think it really matters anymore," Cecilia said. "Survival is the most important thing right now. We can't even survive short term without food or water. We have to just do what we can, even if it means to steal,"

Cecilia didn't say another word on the matter, and quietly filled a sack with as much canned food and bottled water as she could fit in it. When she was finished, she was slightly pleased to see that everyone had done the same.

The rain had stopped at that point, and the group moved forward through the desolate landscape. Cecilia wasn't even sure what for; Shelter? To find more survivors? Neither simply seemed possible; she couldn't even believe she was still alive. And barely anyone had come when she called through the emptiness. Could there really be others out there?

They continued on for hours and didn't see another sign of life. Everything was silent around them, their quiet voices and footsteps echoed loudly through the emptiness. When they finally stopped, it was because they could not go further; they stood on one shore of the massive Snake River. And all bridges to the other side were utterly destroyed.

Cecilia and the others gazed at the far shore. The river was all that separated them from the area informally known as Old City, the original location of Tracia, located deep in the heart of the new one. Cecilia had only been to Old City once, her first day on Dragon Star, when she met with Kasaru Sagittarius.

"Do...do you suppose there are survivors over there?" Tachyn dared to ask what everyone else was thinking. Cecilia looked thoughtful.

"I can't say for sure, but... We have to check. If any of the highest ranking officials survived, we must find them. We can band together and really figure out what to do if we can."

"All of the bridges are out, though. We can't cross on foot," a human, Sunkal, pointed out.

"Not to mention the sides are too steep to climb," another human, Seco, added.

"Well, we'll just have to take to the air," Cecilia said. "Anyone who can't fly, pair up with anyone who can."

Everyone quickly partnered up and as soon as they were ready, they lifted off and began to soar across the river. Almost immediately, however, a sound different from that of wings pierced the silence. It was the sound of speeders.

_No!_ Cecilia thought. _It couldn't be...! They left after they finished annihilating us!_

The group looked around in panic and quickly spotted the source; three foreign speeders closing in from Old City. The same ones the invaders used.

"ITS THEEEEEM!" Ralin screeched among other cries and shouts of panic.

"TURN AROUND! HEAD BACK THE WAY WE CAME!" Cecilia screamed as she turned, the others quickly following her. But the invaders were quickly catching up to them. Cecilia remembered how easily they picked off anyone who tried to flee in the air earlier; it didn't look good for them as she tried to think of how they could escape.

"Dive to the ground and escape on foot!" she yelled. "Take cover and don't look back! I'm going to hold them off!"

"Hold them off?" Mel exclaimed. "Are you crazy?"

"JUST DO IT! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" Cecilia shouted as she turned to face the invaders head on.

Multiple shots were fired at Cecilia, who dodged them with ease. Infuriated, she let out a might roar before firing a massive blast of flames at the speeders. One of the speeders managed to dodge it entirely, one was clipped by the flames, but the third speeder was engulfed and exploded in a mighty fireball.

Smirking triumphantly, Cecilia dodged another volley of shots and fired another blast at the speeder. One of the speeders managed to completely dodge it a second time, but the other one wasn't so lucky; it took a heavy hit and plummeted down to Tracia, crashing spectacularly upon impact.

Cecilia couldn't believe how easily they were going down! She began to turn to make another pass, dodging more blasts at her. But then there was a tremendous pain in her right wing and she screamed. At that moment Cecilia fell from the sky and crashed into the ground below.

"...brilliant specimen. This one will look great with the others."

"Yeah, great shot too. All in one piece. Makes it a lot easier to work with.

"Thanks,"

Cecilia laid absolutely still as she slowly came to her senses. She didn't fall very far, but apparently it was enough to knock her out briefly. She felt her wing hurting badly, and it felt wet, but she wasn't sure why. All Cecilia knew for certain was that she was surrounded by the invaders, and the mere thought sent a chill through her body.

So she kept still, waiting for the right opportunity as she opened her eyes ever so slightly. After what seemed like an eternity, she saw an arm reach down to grab her. Without hesitation she slashed it furiously as she leapt up with a snarl and jumped back. Screaming, the owner of the now mutilated arm was holding it in agony. The other two men looked shocked and angry as they glared at Cecilia. There was something slightly familiar about them.

"Who the hell are you? Who gave you the right to just come here and murder us?" Cecilia growled at them. One of them stepped forward.

"Hmph. We are the Dragon Hunters," he told Cecilia. Her eyes widened in shock; the Dragon Hunters were the same ones her tried to kill her a year ago!

"Our ancestors were the ones who defended the galaxy against the Space Dragons eons ago, when you tried to take over. You were supposed to, of course, have been completely slaughtered, but our ancestors were careless, it seems. First that Cantorin guy made a second attempt at it, and now we find that Dragon Star has been thriving all of this time...

"And you, of course, are the dragon girl. You were our first clue to all this, when you began to terrorize the galaxy nearly ten cycles ago. I don't even know why you're still standing here; we thought we took care of you first."

Cecilia trembled in anger. How dare they come to Dragon Star just to mercilessly kill totally innocent beings! She furiously let out a roar.

"You dare to confuse us for Space Dragons? We have done nothing but abide by the rules _your_ ancestors told us to obey to live! And now you come here and think you can just murder us like mindless animals?"

"Silence, you beast! The only reason we didn't annihilate everyone on this miserable rock before is because of our desire to use your bodies as trophies, to show the entire galaxy what you monsters are like! And I must say, you will make a lovely addition to our already growing collection. The humans are worthless, trophy-wise, but they are still traitors nonetheless, and must die as well."

It took all of Cecilia's willpower to keep from being sick right then and there. Now she understood why there were still buildings standing; they wanted to run them out into the streets and kill them in as few pieces as possible to display them later!

"You...BASTARDS!" Cecilia screamed. She opened her wings, ready to attack from the air, but she felt her wing nearly explode with pain, and flight failed her entirely. Cecilia yelled and closed her wing again. BAM! In those few seconds they took the opportunity to shoot at her, one shot landing in her left shoulder. Roaring, she leapt at them from the ground, slashing furiously. It was all over in a few seconds; the three Dragon Hunters were dead.

Gasping in pain, Cecilia kneeled down and grabbed her shoulder. It was bleeding, but not too badly. Her wing, however, was throbbing in pain. What was wrong with it?

"Cecilia!" someone called her name from behind. She turned and looked; her group of survivors was running towards her. Within moments they were gathered around her.

"What are you doing...? I told you guys to hide," Cecilia said to them.

"We heard screaming so we decided to come back," Tachyn told her. "It's a good thing we did. Cecilia, your wing..."

Cecilia looked and managed to get a good look at her wing, and finally saw what was wrong; it was nearly ripped apart, and soaked with her own blood!

She felt dizzy from the shock and sat down, her head spinning. Cecilia tried to say something, but had a hard time speaking, and everything around her was spinning and fading...

When Cecilia was next aware of things, she found she was laying down on her belly, her head resting on a pillow. A voice was speaking gently to her and she looked up; a human man was bending over her.

"Can you here me, Miss Crimsondragon?" he asked Cecilia.

"Y-yeah...," Cecilia answered weakly. "Who are you?"

"Doctor Tyulim. I came to Tracia in order to gather any survivors I could to take back with me."

"Take back with you...?"

"Yes," Doctor Tyulim answered with a nod. "I was fortunate enough to be taken by way of the Emergency Dragon Teleporter to a safe place during the attack, before it failed. I was one of many who volunteered to leave our sanctuary to search for survivors not fortunate enough to be saved by the teleporter. Tracia is devastated...but I came across you, and your group. Tomorrow I will take you back with me, where you will be safe."

Cecilia sat up. It looked like they were in an abandoned office building and that the sun had set some time ago.

"You're lucky to be in one peace, Miss Crimsondragon," Doctor Tyulim was speaking again. Your shoulder isn't hurt too seriously, and will heal soon enough. Your wing, however..." He cleared his throat. "I have carefully stitched up the wound with my limited supplies. You need to be careful with it; do not attempt to open it, as it will tear open again." Cecilia nodded.

"Don't open it, got it. How long though before I can fly again?" Cecilia asked. Doctor Tyulim looked uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid you misunderstood me, Cecilia. Your wound will heal within a few weeks. But the damage is too severe, and with my limited supplies..." He cleared his throat again. "I'm sorry Cecilia, but you can never fly again."

Cecilia was devastated. It was like she was told she could never walk again. The wind in her face, the exhilaration of soaring high above the ground...Cecilia would never be able to experience them again. There were speeders of course, but they weren't the same.

Depressed, Cecilia avoided sitting with the other survivors, and ate little. Sitting at a window, Cecilia stared blanking out into space, before eventually falling into a restless sleep.

Almost a suddenly as she fell asleep, she was being shaken awake. She sat up and looked around.

"What's wrong?"

"They're coming!" Seco explained. "They're heading this way on foot!"

"What? The Dragon Hunters are coming?" exclaimed Cecilia. The others blinked.

"Is that what the invaders are calling themselves?" Regimas asked. Cecilia nodded.

"What in the world are they calling themselves that for?" said Tachyn. Cecilia crept along to the other side of the building, in the direction in which they were coming, and explained.

"Because they want to hunt all dragons down and keep us as trophies. And the humans as well, because they consider them traitors." Everyone gasped and looked quite ill

"Wh-what? K-keep us as trophies?" Mel said, horrified. "How can they do such a thing?"

"I don't know," Cecilia said. "Buncha sick bastards is what they are," she muttered.

"How do they know we were here, though?" Tachyn wondered. Cecilia shrugged.

"I guess they fo-" Cecilia stopped suddenly, and understood. She took out the transmitter in her pocket and looked at it. "...The signal. They picked up the signal of my transmitter to track us. That's how they knew where to find us." She sighed and pocketed the transmitter. Now they were in trouble and it was her fault again.

Creeping up to a window, she carefully looked out and onto the dark landscape below. Sure enough, a group of about ten Dragon Hunters were carefully approaching the building. She ducked down low again.

"What'll we do?" a quiet half-dragon called Chryseis asked. Cecilia clenched her fists and looked determined.

"Fight them off, of course." The others gaped at her.

"Fight them off? Are you mad?" Cin asked.

"Of course I'm not mad. You know why they want to kill us? Because we're dragons! We have claws and fangs and breathe _fire_! _That's_ how we can fight them off!" Cecilia stated.

"You really think we can do such a thing?" Chryseis nervously asked. Cecilia nodded.

"I know we can! We'll ambush them before they can sneak any closer. There's twice as many of us, we can do it!

"Everyone will leap up at the same time, and when we do, be as intimidating as possible. Everyone who can, will breathe fire at them. After that we'll all leap down and attack everyone who's standing. Does everyone understand?"

The group nodded. Everyone looked scared, some more then others, but what other chance for survival would they have?

"On three. One...two...THREE!" Everyone stood up and roared, some opening their wings as well. The Hunters were caught off guard, but quickly recovered and shot at the group as they fired off blasts of flames. Most were incinerated on the spot.

Leaping down, Cecilia charged at the few that were still standing, the group of survivors right beside her. It was over in a few minutes; they had won!

"W-we did it! We defeated the Hunters!" Tachyn cheered.

"Yeah! They think they're tough with their ships, but they're nothing without them!" Mel added.

Cecilia looked around. Something wasn't right; they were missing someone.

"Where is Doctor Tyulim?" she asked. The other looked around too; it was true, Doctor Tyulim was not among them.

"There he is, over there!" Sunkal said, pointing at the crumpled figure nearby. Cecilia rushed over and kneeled by Doctor Tyulim. She could she it did not look good for him; he had been shot multiple times, and was bleeding pretty badly.

"Cecilia..." Doctor Tyulim weakly gasped. Cecilia furiously blinked.

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. I-if only I l-let them kill me earlier...this wouldn't have happened." Tyulim shook his head.

"Don't...blame yourself, Cecilia... The way you got everyone to work together...It was amazing... You have great leadership skills...," He took a deep breath.

"Cecilia... You must continue what I have failed...to do. Please... You must...guide the survivors...of Tracia...down to A..quar...uh..." with a final sigh, Doctor Tyulim went limp. He was dead.

Cecilia blinked hard, trying to compose herself. Regardless of what he said, she still felt guilty for what happened to him, to everyone on Dragon Star. She couldn't believe he thought she had great leadership skills; Cecilia didn't know anything about being a leader. And then there was his final words...

"Does...does anyone know what he was trying to say?" Cecilia asked the others. Chryseis looked thoughtful.

"D'you...suppose he was trying to say Aqualara?"

"Aqualara... That's not a city I'm familiar with," Cecilia said.

"Its an old mining city, way west of here," Chryseis explained.

"Can you show me where it is on a map?" Cecilia asked, and Chryseis nodded. A quick search of the building produced a map, which was quickly spread out and examined. Aqualara, it turned out, was extremely far away. It would be impossible to reach on foot. And it was too far to fly. Cecilia wasn't sure what to do.

_Doctor Tyulim intrusted me with a task...Take the survivors of Tracia to Aqualara. I don't know how...but I've got to do it. I can't let any others die because of me. I've got to try my best, and be a leader, somehow._

Cecilia felt vulnerable with such large, obvious injuries. There was nothing she could do to hide her wounded wing, but she found a spare piece of cloth, and fashioned it as a partial cape she draped over her left shoulder.

After an uneasy nights sleep, the group set off across Tracia. Cecilia left the transmitter, still on, near the building they stayed in, hoping to throw off the trail Hunters. But she still felt uncertain about the task ahead of her. How was she ever going to get them safely to Aqualara?

A voice in the distance broke into her thoughts, and for a moment Cecilia thought there were more Hunters nearby! But then she recognized the voice as it complained loudly, and she caught a glimpse of the figure far away.

"This is completely undignified! I'm practically royalty and yet I'm left to wander around in this dirty wasteland without any of my servants? When father hears about this..."

"Heeeey! HEEEEEEEY!" Cecilia called out, hoping to get his attention before the Dragon Hunters could hear him. "CAPRICOOOOOOORN!" She rushed forward, the others following. Before she knew it, she stood before her disastrous first date; Capricorn Drake.

"Oh, its you," Capricorn said, looking at her. "What do you want?"

"Well, I'm leading survivors to safety in Aqualara," Cecilia smirked; she couldn't believe that she was actually witnessing the spoiled brat get what he deserved.

"I see. And I suppose you're going to make me come along too," he said.

"Well, I'm not going to make you... Of course, you won't survive long out here, especially with the Dragon Hunters out here, ready to kill anyone they find..."

"Hmph! Fine, I'll travel along with your little group. But that doesn't mean a bunch of commoners like you can just boss me around! Or think you're better then I am..."

Capricorn rambled on, but Cecilia looked thoughtful.

"Capricorn lived through the attack," Cecilia said softly.

"Yeah, so what?" Seco shrugged.

"If Capricorn could survive through that, then there have to be more survivors out here!" Cecilia gazed out into the distance. Suddenly, she felt more confidant about the task ahead. She nodded. "Lets go. We will find those survivors, and we'll safely make it Aqualara. You'll see"

Determined, Cecilia led her fellow survivors forward, ready to cross Tracia and reach Aqualara.


End file.
